When Did I Fall For You?
by SashaKnightly
Summary: After Kate lands herself in the hospital with a bullet hole in her shoulder and a minor coma, secrets she never meant to let go of get uncovered. The entire team is shocked, but it hits Tony the hardest...
1. Chapter 1

Sitting straight up in bed, Gibbs gasped and reached over to turn on the light next to him. He rubbed his eyes and checked the clock; one thirty-two in the morning. He sighed as he walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He couldn't take this anymore, the constant nightmares, the reminders, and the memories.

"I gotta deal with it," he said to himself as he walked out into the hallway. Across from him was a plain white door, decorated near the handle with purple butterfly stickers. Hesitantly, Gibbs reached out and turned the door know, pushing the door open just a little bit. Then he opened it all the way and stared at the contents of the room in front of him.

Everything was the way it had been left all those years ago. The bed still messy, shoes in front of the dresser, and the Barbie dolls left out on the floor. "You never liked cleaning your room Kells," he said as he walked in. Gibbs picked up one of the picture frames on the bookshelf; it was Kelly in midair, jumping off of the stone wall in their backyard.

"Are you watching me sweetheart?" Gibbs said aloud. "Do you remember this day? Thinking you were brave like Daddy, jumping off of walls. Remember how all my marine friends came to the hospital later after you had broken your arm? And Danny brought you that teddy bear with the cast." Gibbs chuckled quietly to himself as he set down the picture.

"They were all worried about you, mostly me. I think I've still got pictures of your cast. John painted the camouflage onto it. It was just so that you could match my uniform, right?" Gibbs picked up another picture, smiling as he looked at it. One summer afternoon, they had a water balloon fight. It was girls versus boys, but it wasn't really that fair, two on one. Kelly had a mean throw; it was probably what landed her the pitching position on her softball team.

Gibbs set the picture down and sat on her bed, thinking of all the times he had read her stories about dragons and knights in shining armor and princesses. A silent tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away quickly. "You weren't supposed to be first," he said his voice cracking. "It should have been me, not you baby girl." Gibbs lay down on top of the messy sheets, quiet tears welling in his eyes. "It should've been me."

He fell asleep like that, clutching Kelly's blanket and curled up on the pink sheets. This time his dreams weren't as bad as they had been before. Gibbs still wasn't able to come to terms with what had happened, but then again, he doubted he ever would. It was one of those things, those painful things that you tried desperately to forget, but then you would try so hard to hold onto them.

He woke up, still in Kelly's room and stood up shakily, wondering what time it was. He went back into his room after closing the door to Kelly's, and checked the clock. Five thirty. Gibbs got into the shower, trying to wash away the sad memories, the painful memories, that had been dredged up the night before.

After showering he got dressed and grabbed his car keys, making his way out the door. He drove to his favorite coffee shop and got in line, it was a little more crowded than usual, and getting his coffee took longer. On his way outside, he saw two people walking and laughing that he had never expected to see. Tony and Kate were walking down the sidewalk, huddled under an umbrella to block the rain, laughing about something that Tony had said. The sight shocked him. Wait…Kate and DiNozzo? Actually getting along? Those two were the bane of each other's existences.

He shook it off and got in the car, heading to work so that he could bring Abby her morning caffeine. After arriving, he parked his car in the usual spot, and ran inside, getting out of the downpour that was starting. He passed the desk on the main floor with a wave and the security guard there nodded his head. "Morning Gunny," the guard said.

"Morning Jack," Gibbs said. They had served together overseas, and it had been an odd coincidence that they worked at the same place. Gibbs handed Jack a coffee.

"Thanks man, alarm system had me up all night. I take it you got my message?" Jack said, taking the coffee and taking a sip.

"Yeah I did, why do you think I got you the coffee Jack?" Gibbs grinned and walked off, "Tell the twins I say happy birthday."

"Will do!" Jack said taking another sip of coffee and getting ready for another long day at work. Gibbs continued on up to the office; where he put his sig in his desk, set the coffee by the keyboard, and set his backpack down on the floor underneath. Mocha in hand, he set off for the forensics lab.

Surprisingly, the lab was quiet, which was unusual. Gibbs walked in and looked around, "Abby?" He said. He walked into her office and noticed a glow coming from the ballistics lab. He opened the door to find Abby sitting cross legged on a yoga mat, with scented candles placed strategically around her. She opened her bright green eyes and smiled.

"Good morning Gibbs!" She said as she stood up, rolling her mat up and blowing out the candles. She skipped out into her office, storing the mat under her desk. Gibbs followed her out into the office.

"You're into meditation now Abbs?" He asked. This was another phase that she would be going through he bet. Last month it had been running, and the month before that she died the tips of her hair neon purple. She quickly grew out of the purple phase though, chopping it off days after getting it died. It was apparently too bright for her.

"Yep, it's helping with my stress." She smiled excitedly, noticing the beverage in his hands. "Did you bring me my bloody penguin?" Abby asked. Every Tuesday morning, Gibbs would bring Abby her 'bloody penguin,' or better known as a raspberry mocha, half coffee and half hot chocolate.

"Yeah, but by the looks of things you don't need any extra energy," he said handing her the cup. She took the beverage and place one hand on her hip, rolling her eyes.

"Are you kidding me Bossman? I mainline caffeine, I need the extra energy to keep me going. But today, I can't have more than two Caf-POWS. I'm trying to cut back." She said, setting the cup on her desk by the computer.

"Are you positive Abby?" Gibbs asked. "Last time you gave up caffeine, you almost decapitated DiNozzo."

"Well that's his own fault! He said I messed up the evidence, which I did but only a little bit. But he could've been more polite about it!" Abby said in a whiny voice.

"Abby, he said 'what about that?' and pointed to part of the computer thing. He doesn't have a clue as to what's in the hard way or whatever the hell you call it." Gibbs said, explaining to Abby that she had been over sensitive from the lack of caffeine.

"It's called a hard drive Gibbs," she said. One of the machines in her lab started beeping incessantly and she ran over to it. "Umm, Gibbs you're gonna want to go back upstairs unless you want the good girl image of me to go poof, because I'm about to start saying some words momma said girls shouldn't use." She said agitated as she started rapidly pressing buttons.

Gibbs walked out, laughing at the thought of Abby's 'good girl image' and got into the elevator right as her string of curses began. The doors closed and on his way up, he considered sending McGee downstairs to help Abby with whatever her problem was. He thought better of it though, seeing as once McGee was down there, there was no way Abby would let him go. It wasn't really an infraction of rule number twelve, but for some reason, once McGee was downstairs, he and Abby would talk for hours about whatever geeky thing it is that they liked.

The lights in the elevator flickered slightly, and it shuddered to a quick stop before starting again. Gibbs looked around, as if he would be able to see the problem, but was distracted from his task as the doors opened. He walked out into the office, noticing that his team was already sitting at their desks in the bullpen. Well, most of them were sitting. It was only seven thirty and Kate and Tony were already going at it.

Kate had her hands pressed up against her ears, "La la la. I can't hear you DiNozzo!" She said, trying to block out whatever Tony was saying. Apparently, it wasn't worth the fight and Tony gave up, directing his attention to McGee.

"Hey McLucky, what about you; why'd you leave work early yesterday?" Tony said, standing up and walking over so that he was standing in front of his coworker's desk. McGee looked up, obviously annoyed.

"Tony, you don't have the security clearance to know about things that happen in my personal life," McGee joked. Tony made a mock look of shock on his face and laughed.

"Well, did you know that Gibbs has security clearance to Area 51 where they keep all the dead aliens?" Tony said. Gibbs walked up behind him, still unnoticed. McGee saw him and decided to play with Tony a bit more.

"Probably because he killed them DiNozzo," McGee said, grinning. Inside he was waiting for the moment to laugh as he watched Gibbs smirk behind Tony.

"Wouldn't it be cool to see them… maybe I'll ask Gibbs if…" He winced, and flicked his eyes to the side, lowering his voice to a whisper. "He's standing right behind me isn't he?" Tony said.

"If you don't get back to work DiNozzo, I will personally make sure that you join those bodies and nobody will ever know. And maybe next month I'll bring Kate and McGee to see you frozen with all the aliens." Gibbs said, half-joking but also half-serious at the same time.

"On it boss," Tony said as he ran back to his desk. McGee and Kate chuckled silently as Gibbs also sat back down. Gibbs phone rang and he picked it up. "Gibbs, yeah… got it." He hung up the phone and pointed to Tony and Kate. "Yeah boss?" Tony asked standing up in sync with Kate, they grabbed their bags and Gibbs handed Tony a sticky note with a name and an address.

"I need you to go pick this woman up; witness." Gibbs said.

Tony nodded as he took the piece of paper and Kate pulled on her rain jacket. Tony grabbed his jacket as well and they headed to the elevator, giving a worried glance out the window to where the thunderstorm was getting worse. The pair got into the elevator, and no a minute after the doors closed, the power in the building flickered and went out. McGee swore under his breath, the work on his computer lost. Gibbs smirked; he still did most of his work by hand so he didn't lose anything.

McGee pulled out his phone that was buzzing in his bag. He opened up the email and read it quickly. "Uhh boss, power's gonna be down for a while. Couple of power lines came down and one of the main generators isn't working so we're running on limited resources." All of a sudden, McGee jerked his head up and looked towards the elevator. "Boss, do you think Tony and Kate made it out of the elevator?"

All of a sudden, McGee's phone started ringing in his hand and he answered the call. "Tony?" He asked, "You… wait you're…" Tony frantically tried to explain that the elevator was broken and that they were stuck. "Ok, relax we'll get you out eventually." McGee hung up the phone and set it down.

"They stuck in the elevator?" Gibbs asked. McGee nodded, the ghost of a grin flickering on his face. Gibbs almost smiled with him, and he would've if Abby hadn't burst into the bullpen all up in arms about something.

"Gibbsgibbsgibbsgibbs!" She said, skidding to a halt in front of his desk. "My baby's are down!"

"Yeah Abbs, the whole building's out." He said, restating the obvious. Abby looked crest fallen, she had been so close to finishing running the evidence, and in about fifteen minutes, she would've had the results.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked. Gibbs pointed towards the elevator, "Gibbs the elevators don't work either."

"Yeah well you could entertain Tony and Kate, who have the joy of spending the next few hours in the elevator until the power gets fixed or a rescue team gets sent in." He explained.

"No way," Abby said, suddenly excited again. She took a sip of her mocha before continuing, "Tony and Kate. In a small, enclosed box. Alone. No supervision… Oh my god they're going to kill each other!" She squealed, "I wish I had a video feed!" Then Abby got an idea, "Lemons." She said. "C'mon McGee, we're gonna play with citrus."

McGee looked to Gibbs as if asking for permission and he waved him off. Abby grabbed McGee by the wrist and they headed down to her lab. Abby ran to the small refrigerator under her desk and pulled out the bag of lemons. "Abby? Why do you have a bag of lemons?" He asked.

"Well, I was trying to perfect my citrus battery while I was waiting for the evidence to run, but then Major Mass Spec decided to break down on me so I didn't get the chance. But I built a better device that'll conduct more electricity." Abby said as she set the bag on the metal table in the middle of her office. She grabbed her laptop as well, putting that on the table next to the lemons.

McGee sat down as she also grabbed an odd looking metal device, a couple of wires, and her charging cord. She set them all on the table and stood next to McGee. She took the metal device and attached a few wires from the base to the half-outlet near the base. She cut two of the lemons in half, and stuck metal rods into them, then attached the wires to the rods. After she plugged the charging cord into the outlet on the base, and put it in her computer.

Her computer booted up, and she gave a little bow. "Nice Abby," McGee said. "It's like a science fair project." Abby smiled as she sat down next to him and logged in. She opened up the file where she could get into the mainframe and hack the camera in the elevator. "Wait, do the cameras still work?" McGee asked.

"They have their own separate generator so even if the power is out, you can see what's going on anywhere and anytime." She clicked on the folder that would open up the camera for the elevator and the video feed opened. Tony and Kate sat on opposite sides of the elevator, Kate with her arms crossed and eyes closed, Tony with a small notebook in his hands. He wrote something down before putting it back in his bag.

"Katie," Tony crooned. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "This is all Gibbs fault. He and his damn off and on switch got us into this mess. He's always fooling with it. It's always on and off, on and off, then up and down." Back in the lab McGee laughed silently, figures that Tony would blame Gibbs.

"DiNozzo the power's out. That's why we're stuck in here, I'm sure Gibbs has nothing to do with this. Unless Abby asked him to screw with it so that I got stuck in here. She still hasn't gotten me back for breaking her heels by accident." Kate said, eyes still closed as she shifted and crossed her legs so that she looked like she was meditating.

"Whatcha doing Kate?" Tony said, crawling over to her. He had his face right in front of hers so that when she opened her eyes he could scare her. "Katieeee," Tony said, trying to irritate the brunette. And it did.

"What—holy shit Tony!" She said, opening her eyes and jumping to the side. Tony sat back down and cracked up hysterically. "That wasn't funny DiNozzo! Not funny at all!" She slapped the back of his head.

"Hey! That's no fair! Only Gibbs can do that, and you slap even harder than him. Oww, Kate that hurt." He said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I can't believe I'm stuck in here with you! Of all people to be stuck with and it's you." Kate said, she pulled the braid out of her hair and ran her fingers through it, untangling it and smoothing it out. She pulled it back again and started to re-braid it.

"What is it with women and their hair?" Tony mumbled as he pulled out Kate's PDA.

"Hey!" Kate said, forgetting her braid and snatching the device out of her coworker's hand. "Knock it off! That's mine. See this is why I slapped you." Kate put the PDA back in her back and pulled out her crime scene tape and scissors. "Until the power is back on, you stay on your half and I'll stay on mine." Kate said as she laid a strip of tape in the middle of the elevator.

"You had siblings growing up didn't you Kate?" Tony asked.

Kate nodded, "Yeah why?"

"Well because you just separated us in an elevator with a strip of crime scene tape. That just screams 'my little brothers wouldn't leave me alone so I marked my territory' sort of thing. Doesn't it? C'mon, profile yourself." Tony said.

Kate rolled her eyes and sat back in the position she was in before and finished braiding her hair. For a few minutes they sat there in silence, until Tony started talking again.

"Kate?" He asked.

"Yes Tony?" She said, her level of annoyance with Tony slowly declining.

"Are you in love?" He said, putting his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands.

Kate laughed, "Wouldn't you like to know?" She looked up at him, cocking her head slightly as she stopped laughing. "Are you being serious?" Tony nodded in answer to her question. "Well… maybe, I'm not sure. What about you, who's your next victim?"

Tony grinned, "You sure you want to hear?" He said jokingly.

"I'm already going to hell just for working with you, come on tell me." Kate said, returning the smile.

"She's really pretty, and very smart… like, incredibly smart. The thing that gets me though is her eyes. They can stab your soul and melt your heart within a minute." He smiled and looked down.

"What's wrong?" Kate asked. Tony didn't answer. "Oh, you can't tell her can you?"

He shook his head, and looked back up, that lost in thought look in his eyes. "I want to but you see… it's practically impossible. I never have the chance to tell her, and I don't think I could say it."

"It's only three words Tony. Not that hard to say if you really love them. Come on, I'll help you practice. All you have to say is I love you." Kate said; scooting closer to Tony and clapping her hands together like an excited elementary school teacher about to teach a child to say his ABC's or something.

"I love you." Tony said.

"See it isn't that hard." Kate said smiling.

Tony ran his hands through his hair before looking back at Kate. "No! Kate I love you! You, you, you; nobody else just… you."

Back in the lab Abby jumped up and down. "I knew it! I told you so! I knew it! I'm a genius!" She smiled and ran around her lab. "Oh my gawd, is he gonna kiss her?" She said running back to her laptop. Just in time apparently. Tony was leaning in towards Kate and just as they were about to kiss, the elevator jolted and the power came back on. The two agents both leaned back, flustered and mumbling nonsense about something.

Abby let out a string of curses in a two languages, ASL and English. McGee watched as she walked back and forth, violently shaking her hands and cursing. The audio stopped shortly after, but McGee could tell that she was still signing.

"Jesus Abbs, who pissed you off?" Gibbs said as he walked into the room. He lifted up his hands, was it McGee?

No Gibbs it wasn't, something just didn't go the way I wanted it to, she signed back.

You sure? He said.

Positive. Now take your agent so I can get back to work. She signed as she smiled. Gibbs nodded and motioned for McGee to follow him. "Time to get back to work McGee." He said, walking towards the elevator.

Tony and Kate, finally out of the elevator, ran to the car to go get their witness. When they arrived, there was a black SUV in the driveway, which was strange because there was a garage which was big enough to hold the car. "What woman drives an SUV these days?" Tony said as they walked to the door. Kate rolled her eyes as Tony knocked. "NCIS, open up!" He said. Kate peered into the window, and the sight shocked her.

"Tony," she whispered. He looked in and saw the woman lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He motioned to Kate to get on the other side of the door as they took out their guns. He counted to three and kicked the door in, they both rushed in, swinging their sigs around as they cleared the room. Kate took the lead and ran upstairs, Tony following her. They finished clearing the rooms and then walked downstairs, only to find two men sneaking out. The first one whipped around and fired his weapon at them with no general aim before they ran out to the car.

Tony chased after them; running out into the middle of the street before realizing that there was no way he could possibly follow the SUV. The SFA turned around, expecting Kate to be right behind him but she wasn't. Thinking the worse, he went back inside, seeing his partner on the staircase clutching her shoulder. Her shirt was already soaked with blood, as was the staircase beneath her.

"Shit, Kate you had to go and get yourself shot didn't you?" He said, moving her off of the stairs and onto the floor. Tony tugged off his jacket, pressing it against her shoulder to stop the bleeding before taking out his cell phone. "This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo; my partner's just been shot and is bleeding heavily. Can I get an ambulance here STAT!"

A few minutes later found the house surrounded by cop cars, ME vans, and an ambulance. The EMT's lifted Kate's limp body onto the stretcher, leaving behind a distraught Tony. Gibbs, McGee, and Ziva arrived as they were strapping her onto the stretcher and one look at Tony told Gibbs that he would be of no use at the crime scene. "DiNozzo, go with her. Make sure she's safe." He said.

"Thank you boss," Tony said, rushing out to the ambulance. He got in the back with the technicians, who were busy stabilizing Kate. Her heart was beating very slowly, her pulse weak, and her temperature was rising. By the time they pulled in Bethesda, the majority of the bleeding had slowed down and they were able to stabilize her. Tony was ushered into the waiting room where he waited, and he paced, but mostly, he just waited.

He lay down on one of the wooden benches, waiting for Kate to be stable enough so that he could go see her. One of the nurses had poked her head in to inform him that she was being prepped for surgery and that it would be a few hours. Tony's eyes drifted shut; he was tired from staying up so late at night and working long hours at work. Needless to say, he fell asleep, but was woken up a few hours later as someone shook him awake.

"Mr. DiNozzo, excuse me, Mr. DiNozzo." The nurse said frantically as she shook the agent awake. Something terrible had happened and they needed him to be there for the next step. "Caitlyn has taken a turn for the worst and we need you to help make decisions for her that she is unable to make." She said calmly, though the fear was threatening to crack through her voice.

"What!" Tony shouted, sitting up. "What happened is she going to be okay?" He asked frantically. What if she was dying? What would he do? There were things he had to say, things he needed to tell her before she left.

"Kate's slipped into a coma; her fever has also gone up severely. It seems that she was developing a virus before she was shot, but now that her immune system has become so weak, the virus is much stronger and much more deadly. The next few hours will be critical and we need you there in case the time comes that we need to make decisions for her." The nurse said, delivering the terrible news to him.

"Oh god," Tony said, burying his head in his hands. This was his bête noire coming to life. His partner, his best friend, the woman he was falling in love with was in critical condition, barely recovering. The nurse led Tony down to Kate's room, where a doctor was just walking out.

"Mr. DiNozzo, am I correct?" The doctor asked. Tony nodded and the doctor held out his hand, "I'm Dr. Holt, I'll be overseeing Ms. Todd's treatment for the time being. Please sit down," he said, gesturing to the chairs outside of her room. Tony sat down hesitantly with the doctor.

"I'm pleased to say that we were successful in our attempts to remove the bullet. We've sutured the entry site and it should heal fast. Unfortunately, the bullet nicked the corner of her lung, passing right by one of her ribs. Her lung is healing well, but the rib is cracked. Along with a sprained ankle which we believe was caused by falling when she was wounded." Dr. Holt continued on, "Also, Ms. Todd has slipped into a coma, which we do not yet know the severity of her condition. For now she is stable, but please, you can alert us if you think something is wrong." He stood up and let Tony go into her room.

With a slight hesitation in his step, Tony walked into Kate's room. If it wasn't for the low beeping of the monitor, he would have thought her dead. She had one of those light blue hospital gowns on that contrasted against the pallor of her skin. Her chest rose and fell slightly, it was barely noticeable. Had it not been for the oxygen tube, Tony doubted she'd of been breathing at all.

At that moment, he decided that this is what angels looked like. Peaceful and resting, oblivious to the world for the moment, only a hint of life portrayed through the tint of pink in their cheeks. He pulled a chair up to her side and slipped his hand into hers, he flinched as he made contact with the icy skin.

Then, for the first time in a long time, Tony cried. It seemed as if this last event was just enough to push him over the edge of hysteria and force those tears he always left unshed. Salty drops ran down his cheek, stinging his eyes and making them puffy. He wiped them away as he looked at Kate. "Hey Kate, well, I feel like if I were in your boots, well I'd be praying. So hell, I'm gonna give it a shot."

Tony looked down, but back up. "Umm, Kate I know this is a stupid question, but I pray to God right?" He said, chuckling slightly. "So, here goes nothing. Hi? God? That's your name right? Well you see, there's this person who I really like, and I'm pretty sure I love her, but she might be dying… so you see, I don't feel comfortable with asking you to do something specific for me, but could you give me some strength? Please? I really need it right now, just enough to make it through this, and then I'll pay you back, with interest, cross my heart. I think I say Amen now, right?" He finished his prayer, it'd been a while since Tony had last prayed, but he figured it was worth trying.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony was a poster child for being faithful, every day and night was spent by Kate's bedside. He only left when Gibbs or Abby would force him to go home for a few hours and shower and sleep. After he was done with that, he would go back to the hospital to keep an eye on his partner.

Everything just seemed like it was getting worse though. Her heart was in bad condition, it had a very weak pulse and her circulation was lower than normal. The tips of her fingers were cold as ice to the touch, almost as if she had frostbite. Her face was incredibly pale, and Tony kept thinking about how she looked like she was dead.

After four days of this, he tried something that Ducky had told him. He talked to her. Sometimes, coma patients could hear the world outside of them, and someone talking to them could awake them. "Katie girl, do you know how boring you made everything? I have no one to argue with, no one to throw paper airplanes at, and no one to constantly tease…" He sighed dramatically before continuing.

"It's boring as hell up here with you gone. Can you come back soon? Please? We need to talk about a lot of things." He lay down on the couch in the corner of the small room. All that was in there was him, Kate, and the curtain pulled in front if the door to give the patient privacy as the doctor would walk in.

Tony looked out the window, wondering if anyone else was doing the same thing he was. It was a curious thought, and one he thought about until he drifted off to sleep on the couch. He wasn't comfortable enough, and woke up a few minutes later when Abby came in. She gave a little wave and tiptoed in, as if being loud would wake Kate up.

"You don't have to be so quiet Abby, she's in a coma. She can't hear you." He said rather glumly, Abby gave him a hug. The motion making up for what couldn't be said in words, or what could be said but would take too long. I'm sorry; it's not your fault. It will be okay. She'll be fine. We'll make it through. I promise…

"Tony, I'm so glad Kate has a friend like you." She said. He moved over so she could sit beside him. There was a silence in the room, a comfortable silence, but a silence none the less. All they could hear was the sound of the monitors attached to Kate beep every now and then. Abby turned to Tony, "It's almost three o'clock in the afternoon Tony. You've been here since seven. Why don't we get you home for a few hours? When's the last time you actually showered and slept more than four hours?" She asked. He shrugged and she pulled him to his feet.

"Abby no, I have to stay with…" he started. She cut him off with a look that he didn't dare go against and followed her out like a retreating puppy dog with his tail between his legs. She led him out to her car, and they passed McGee on the way; he was going to watch Kate while Tony was gone. Tony never knew how fast Abby could drive, it was crazy.

He went inside his apartment and Abby handed him a plastic bag with shampoo and conditioner, knowing he probably hadn't gone shopping in a few days. She pushed him in the general direction of his bedroom with strict instructions to "Shower and sleep." Or she'd make him disappear and leave no evidence behind. Tony followed her instructions to go shower, and he could hear her out in his apartment, setting down her bag and pulling out a book to read.

Tony closed his eyes as he let the hot water trickle down his back, the tension in his back was working its way out with the flow of the water. After sitting in the same position for so long, he realized how many cramps and kinks had built up in his neck. He rolled his neck in a circle before reaching for the shampoo. He clicked it open and the heavy fragrance hit him, and almost made him fall over with its familiarity.

It was Kate's.

The SFA could never tell if it was blackberries or strawberries, it was some sort of berry and it was the same aroma as Kate's perfume or soap or whatever the hell she used that made her smell the exact same every day. He set the bottle down as he leaned against the shower wall, finally letting his unshed tears fall. What if Kate didn't make it? What if she died? What would he do with himself, knowing he'd never told her how much she meaned to him? How she was always there in some way, with her sassy comebacks and the somewhat reluctant acceptances to a drink after work. He moved on from the sad thought, shoving it deep down where it would stay in the back drawer of his memories. Pull it together DiNozzo, he thought to himself. Move on, and man up.

He finished his shower and dried off quickly, pulling on a pair of sweats and padding out to the kitchen. "Just getting a drink of water Abs, then I'll sleep I swear." He said, holding a hand up so that she wouldn't attack him. Tony grabbed the glass of water and brought it to his bedroom, setting it on his nightstand before walking over to his window. He shut the blinds so that his room was almost pitch black, with only a sliver of light coming from underneath the bathroom door.

As soon as he was under the sheets, Tony fell asleep. He hadn't realized how much he needed this sleep, how deprived he was and how long it would be to catch up on it. The only catch, his dreams soon turned to nightmares. Kate dying… Him dying… Her funeral… His funeral… Either of them dying seemed to be the main event in his distant state of unconsciousness.

After tossing and turning in his sleep, Tony woke up when he fell off the bed and was slammed onto the floor. He flinched and jumped up; reaching for his gun but there wasn't one. Panic set in until he realized where he was. In his apartment, safe from harm, and all that had happened was a little tumble from the bed.

Tony walked out of his room into the main part of his apartment, where Abby was standing in the kitchen, making breakfast. "You were sleeping well so I went home for the night. Figured you'd be hungry," she said, holding up the box of muffin mix.

"You're making me muffins? Lemon poppy seed, I hope?" He said. She nodded in confirmation and he smiled, they were his absolute favorite flavor. No contest.

She shrugged as she pulled the hot tin from the oven before setting it on the stove to cool. "I thought making you breakfast would be my way of saying sorry that I dragged you home from the hospital. Although I think a night of sleep did you some good."

"It did, thanks for thinking of me Abs. There's no chance that you got me a-"

"Grande toffee nut, white mocha frappuccino, double blended with whip cream and extra caramel." She said holding up the cup. "Yeah I did." Abby handed him the caffeinated beverage and he smiled brightly.

"Abigail Scuito, will you marry me?" He joked. She laughed and smacked him with the towel.

"No way! You are way too high maintenance for me!" She said with one hand on her hip and one hand shaking at him.

"And you're not?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Touché."

He sat at the island and she set a plate in front of him with three big muffins. Tony ate them quickly and was told to go put on normal clothes so that he could go back to the hospital to see Kate. He did as he was told, throwing on fresh jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt. As he followed Abby out the door, he snatched another muffin from the counter, along with his coffee.

The hospital nurses waved them in as soon as they got there, they were used to seeing Tony come in so often. He and Abby walked in and saw another man standing by Kate's bedside. He was holding her hand and a single tear was falling down his cheek. Tony cleared his throat and the person turned to face him. "Hello, I'm Tony DiNozzo, and you are?" He said.

"Patrick Marne," the man said, reaching his hand out to shake Tony's. "I've heard so much about the infamous Tony DiNozzo."

Tony shook his hand and forced a smile, "Sorry, can't say the same." Who was this guy anyway?

Patrick smiled and released Tony's hand, "I'm Kate's fiancé."


	3. Chapter 3

After about fifteen minutes of just small talk, Patrick had to leave for work. Air Force One had two hours before takeoff and Patrick had to start his daily sweep for bugs and anything else that could potentially harm the president. Oh, and he mentioned 'Secret Service' as least six times. From what Tony gathered he was funny, cocky, and a bit sensitive.

"Talk about awkward!" Abby said as soon as Patrick closed the door. "Did you know she was engaged? She certainly didn't tell me! If she makes it through this, I'm going to kill her." She told Tony. "Or she'll wish she was dead by the time I'm done with her…"

"Abs, you're getting violent over there." Tony said, walking over to stand by Kate's side. She seemed more alive than the last time he saw her. There was color in her cheeks and her pulse was stronger when Tony reached down to check it on her wrist. Yeah, you could see it on the monitor, but that didn't tell you how strong her blood could be pumping, or how relieved you would feel when you felt the steady beat.

"I'm going to head into work T, you've got it covered in here?" Abby asked. Tony nodded quickly and Abby wrapped him in a bear hug. "Don't worry, she'll pull through." She let go and headed for the door. "Call me if anything changes. I don't care if you even so much as think you imagined her fingers moving, I want to know." Tony picked up his phone from the table beside Kate as if to promise he would call her later.

After leaving, Tony pulled up a chair to his partner's bedside. He wondered what she was thinking of and why she didn't tell him about Mr. Secret Service. One quick look and Tony saw the simple band on her ring finger with a heart shaped diamond in the center. He sighed, "Why didn't you tell me Kate? I thought you trusted me."

He sat there for a minute before his phone started buzzing. Weird, he hadn't remembered turning it on vibrate. Normally it was a theme song from one of his favorite movies. He turned on the phone and realized it wasn't his, but Patrick's. They must have the same phone and they had gotten switched when they both put their phones down. Being the nosy federal agent he was, Tony opened the new text message.

_Hey babe, what are you doing?_

Oh god, how was Tony supposed to reply to that? Wait… he wasn't, this wasn't his phone. Who was Stephanie? He gulped, automatically assuming the worse before texting back.

At hospital with Kate.

If Tony was going to talk to this stranger, may as well tell the truth. He wondered if this woman knew about Kate, well, she was going to find out sooner or later.

_That bitch! I thought you were breaking up with her!? What's going on Pat? _

Oh she knew about Kate alright, Tony was about to reply back when Kate's monitor beeped quickly for a second before returning to normal. Her lips parted slightly and he set the phone down as Kate's chest started to expand with the oxygen she was taking in by herself. Her eyes opened, barely, but he could see the chocolate brown eyes that could melt you in seconds.

"Tony…" She tried but her voice was raspy and crackly from not talking for days. Kate began to cough and Tony ran out to the nurses' station.

"She's up! Kate Todd, she's coughing and trying to breathe on her own." He said rapid fire to the nurse. She paged one of the doctors who arrived shortly, walking briskly into her room. Tony walked in behind him as the doctor helped a frantic Kate take out the oxygen tube protruding from her throat. Tony helped to calm her down and hold her still as the doctor expertly extracted it from her mouth, letting her take big gulps of air into her aching lungs.

A nurse came in after to administer pain medication to Kate's IV. "This should be fun," he mumbled to himself. Having severe reactions to pain meds himself, Tony could only wonder how Kate was going to respond to the drugs now rushing through her bloodstream. Happy that his patient had been stabilized, the doctor left the room. Tony pulled out the cell phone in his pocket to send a message back to Stephanie.

_Just left; Kate in coma; can't break up just yet. Sorry babe. __ So, what about tonight?_

In some ways, tony felt horrible about sending a message like that, but part of him was absolutely thrilled to be doing it. He set the phone down, now that Kate had surfaced to full consciousness; he wanted to be the first one she talked to.

"Hey Katie girl, how are you feeling?" He asked, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing it gently. She smiled weakly at him and turned to cough before replying.

"Like crap… What the hell happened?" Kate said softly, her voice still raspy but getting clearer from the new oxygen filling her lungs.

"You got shot, in the shoulder. It's gonna leave a beautiful scar there. And you got a virus when your immune system was weak so we had to pump your stomach for extra fluids and make sure you didn't throw up while you were unconscious. Then you slipped into a coma and it's been about eleven days since we last heard you." He scuffed his foot on the ground, "It was sooooo boring. You have no idea."

"Heard… talking…" Kate said. She blinked her eyes slowly, trying to convey the message to Tony that she could barely talk.

"Yeah, that was me for the first nine days. Yesterday Abby said she'd kill me if I didn't go home so I did and I showered, took a long nap. Then I came back and saw your visitor. Mr. Secret Service was holding your hand." Tony gave Kate a lopsided smile, "So tell me about that rock on your finger… how long?"

Kate held up one finger and the other finger bent in half. "One and a half months?" Tony guessed, but Kate shook her head. "One and a half days?" He joked. She shook her head again, creasing her brow and shaking her hands at him. "One and a half years?" He said finally. Kate put her hands down and smiled, nodding her head.

"I don't trust him." Tony said flat out. He didn't mean to say it, but it just slipped out. It'd be better for Kate to know about what he just discovered at another time, when she was strong and healthy and could beat the living shit out of Patrick. Or she could tell Tony to do it for her.

Kate tilted her head, as if to ask 'why not?' "Well," he started. May as well get it over with now, he showed her the phone screen. "I got a text from someone named Stephanie before realizing this was Patrick's phone. I'm sorry Kate, you shouldn't have found out like this." Kate looked like she was going to cry, before she held out her hand to Tony. He got the message and took the ring off of her finger. She let the hand fall down and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Someone opened the door and Tony quickly erased the messages he had sent, shoving the phone back in his pocket. Speak of the devil, Patrick walked in with a big grin on his face, holding out Tony's phone. "Sorry man, I took your phone by accident. Here," he said, handing it to the agent.

In return Tony handed Patrick his phone, then held up a hand to stop him from leaving. "Wait, don't forget this." He reached into his pocket and took out Kate's engagement ring, depositing it into Patrick's hand. The other man was confused.

"What? Is this some sort of joke?" He looked at the phone and the ring in his hand then looked at Kate, "Sweetheart, what's going on?" Kate just pointed at the door, telling him to leave with no words; just a cold stare and an emotionless gesture.

Tony took a step forward, "Next time, pick one girl, and leave my girl out of you damned love triangles. And try not to forget your phone when your girlfriend's texting you, leaving your fiancé to read her little messages." He said coolly. Patrick went pale and stumbled back, running out the door and away from the hospital room.

When Tony turned back around, he saw Kate with tears streaking down both cheeks. So much was said in the tears that it didn't matter that she lost her voice. All Tony could see was the tremendous pain she was experiencing, the heartbreak and sorrow from losing the one she loved.

Tony put his hand on her cheek, "Just go to sleep, we'll deal with it later." Kate leaned into his touch as her eyelids fluttered shut, falling asleep almost instantly. Tony sat down in the chair next to her, sitting back and wondering what would be in the cards for them in the days to come.


	4. Chapter 4

Another week went by and Kate's recovery seemed miraculous, she was able to talk and eat four days after waking up. Her mood was terrible though, she was sad from breaking up with Patrick, but Tony was helping her through it. He waited in the hallway while she put her normal clothes on. A nurse was helping her because she had lost some of her muscle while she was in the hospital, so she was still weak. Today she was being discharged with strict orders to stay home and get some rest.

Tony had been going to work during the day and leaving from there to go to the hospital to keep Kate some company. He was caught up with all of his work from when he had been gone before seeing as he had brought his paperwork to the hospital to do while he was there. Now they could leave and Kate would finally be home. A few more weeks and then she'd be ready to go back to work, hopefully.

The nurse came out and said that Tony could go in. Kate was sitting on the edge of the bed, obviously waiting for Tony to come get her. He had a wheelchair with him, seeing as this was a hospital and she needed to be in a wheelchair until they got out to his car. She made a face at the wheelchair, but Tony picked her up and put her in the chair quickly, before she had the time to complain about it.

She just crossed her arms as Tony wheeled her out of the room. "Excited to leave Katie?" He said smiling.

"Yeah." Wow, one word from the woman who could talk forever. There was definitely something wrong with her. A few days ago he brought in his OSU sweatshirt for her to borrow. God knows how much he loves that sweatshirt, so it meant a lot to Kate that he let her wear it.

Tony wheeled her out of the hospital to where someone had pulled up Tony's car for them, so it was right out front. The nurse following them helped Tony get Kate into the car, and she took the wheelchair, trading off for a packet of instructions and a prescription they had to fill. "Just what I need, there's even more people telling me to do things." Tony got in the car with packet in hand, giving it to Kate to hold onto while they drove back to her apartment.

The drive was long; they hit traffic on the highway so Tony cranked up the music and sang along with a show tunes station. Kate barely smiled, shifting back and forth in her seat, wincing every time her shoulder move since she was still sensitive from the bullet wound. Tony noticed and he turned off the music. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah DiNozzo I'm feeling just great. I've got a bullet hole in my shoulder and I'm nauseous from the medicine they gave me. It's like walking on sunshine." Kate said. Tony assumed it was supposed to be sarcastic, but her voice was flat and emotionless. She slumped in her seat as they pulled up to the pharmacy window, picking up Kate's medicine that she'd have to take. Tony also ran inside so he could get dressings for her shoulder.

He returned in a few minutes with a bag full of medical supplies, which he tossed in the backseat. The rest of the ride home was silent; Kate was probably plotting ways to kill Patrick so no one would find out. At least, that's what Tony was assuming because at one point she had muttered "Maybe I'll just have Abby do it."

Tony pulled into the driveway in front of the small dark blue house, he got out first, grabbing the bag from the back with the bandages and prescriptions, then he walked over to the other side where he opened the car door for Kate and helped her get out. She leaned on him for support as they walked up to the front door, which Tony was able to open with ease, even though he was half carrying Kate and toting two bags. After setting the bags down on the kitchen counter, Tony helped Kate into her bedroom, and had her lie down. Her face was a mask of pain as she shifted, and Tony ran for the pain meds. She took them gratefully, swallowing them quickly.

"Thanks Tony," she said softly, sinking back into the pillow beneath her head. Her eyelids fluttered closed and Tony could tell that she had fallen asleep.

"No problem," he said as he walked out the door. While Kate was asleep, he could go home and grab his bag, so that he'd have clothes and stuff here while he was taking care of his partner. As he got in the car he realized something, being partners is like being married, with bullets. The SFA smiled to himself as he pulled out of the driveway to head to his house.


	5. Chapter 5

After a few days of mostly bed rest and a lot of meds, Kate began to come to terms with the pain residing deep in her heart. She had honestly thought Patrick was the one for her. At first Kate believed she would never get over him, ever. Now, as Tony stuck his head in her doorway with that goofy smile of his, she realized why it hadn't worked out with anyone else. "Good morning Princess, your chariot awaits you. Her majesty wishes a trip to the NCIS headquarters, does she not?" He chuckled after delivering his message with a steep bow and another crooked smile.

"She does, after a hot shower, a change of clothes, and breakfast." Kate said as she got out of bed. Tony retreated from her room to give her privacy to change and get ready for her visit to NCIS. She hadn't been there in weeks, after her coma, intense physical therapy had been instilled to get her shoulder muscles to repair and rebuild themselves. Between that and her required bed rest, she had no time for anything, or the energy.

Tony handed Kate a bagel and a water bottle after she walked out of her room, ready to go, along with the day's medicine. Begrudgingly, she took the medicine before starting her bagel. They got into Tony's car and started their way to NCIS. The drive took awhile; they hit morning traffic which slowed them down considerably.

"So are you feeling better?" Tony asked.

Kate nodded as she took a sip of her water. "You should know Tony; you've been at my house almost twenty-four seven."

"That's because you were drugged twenty-four seven and you needed a responsible adult to watch you," he said sarcastically.

"A responsible adult? Okay, if I wanted someone responsible you could've sent McGee. I got partial responsibility and a side of humor, so I wasn't bored; that's where you come in." She said with a smile. They finally got out of traffic and pulled into the parking lot. They got out, hurrying in as it had just started to rain. They headed up to their floor in the elevator. "If we get stuck in this deathtrap again, so help me god I'll scream." Kate said as the elevator doors closed and they went up. Tony laughed at the memory of them being stuck in the elevator, there was so much that could've happened if the power hadn't been turned on.

Tim was the only one in the bullpen when they arrived; he greeted Kate with a quick and gentle hug, as to not hurt her shoulder. Tony, deciding he felt left out, gave McGee a big hug, squishing the air out of the poor probie's lungs. Finally he let him go, and Tim stepped back to catch his breath. "God Tony, missed you too okay? Just… give me a minute to breathe."

"Hey Kate," Gibbs said as he strolled in with his coffee. "How's your shoulder doing?"

"Much better, Boss." She said, "Should be back in a few days, riding the desk though. It'll be two weeks until I'm cleared for field work." Gibbs nodded, conveying that he approved of this plan. The team sat around and chatted while they caught up on paperwork, Kate just hung around, and she wasn't allowed to do paperwork yet as her doctor wanted her brain to be able to heal from the coma.

Time flew by and before they knew it, it was lunch time. Tony and Kate left to go eat, with promises of returning so they could see Abby and Ducky later. They walked down to the car and drove around for awhile. The partners eventually settled on a small restaurant, Old Harbor Brewery. As they walked in, their senses were assaulted with the scents of hops and good food. The hostess sat them down at a table near the window, where they could look outside to see the harbor. Realizing they wouldn't be able to decide on just one type of beer, they ordered a sampler with their lunch. Kate had penne with Alfredo sauce, while Tony had fish and chips.

They talked quietly, sharing the brew and eating their lunch. Tony decided to ask her about Patrick and why she hadn't told them about him. "So Katie girl, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but why didn't you tell us about Patrick?"

Kate looked up at Tony, "I didn't know how to tell you because…" She trailed off, a guilty look crossing her face before she continued. "I just didn't know how to tell you about it."

"Because why?" Tony pressed, hoping for an answer. "Were you afraid to tell us or something? Is it because he was secret service?"

Kate spun the straw around in the water she had been drinking, "No it's none of that. It's nothing really."

"Fine," Tony responded. He dropped the conversation and they finished lunch, going outside to walk in the park across the street.

"I'm sorry Tony," Kate said after a long silence.

"What? Sorry that you were engaged and you almost kissed me? Sorry that you tell me then when I told you I loved you? Sorry because you were toying with my feelings?" Tony blurted out all at once. Kate flushed, knowing she hadn't done the right thing, knowing that Tony was the only one who could get to her like this.

"I'm sorry because I fell in love with you!" Kate said, the first tear falling down her cheek. "I fell in love with you! And I tried so hard to get away and just stay in love with Patrick… I tried so hard but you, you just… God, Tony do you know how hard it was for me? I. Love. You. Even when I was about to be married I still love you! I still do…" She said as the tears flowed faster now.

Tony stood there in shock for a moment before pulling Kate in for a hug. He enveloped her in his warmth, protecting her and holding her together as if she was broken. He pressed his lips into her hair, kissing the top of her head before whispering how sorry he was to have messed things up. More so, he was telling her how much he loved her as she slowly stopped crying. They stood there, holding each other like they were lifelines, and letting go meant losing everything. "I love you Kate," Tony sighed gently as he let go of her.

"I love you too Tony." She said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him softly on the cheek. "I always have, and always will."


End file.
